What an awesome day Mike and I had in a private hide photographing this woodland specialist, the Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Latin Name Accipiter Nisus. We were blessed with amazing light all day and superb views of this awesome bird.
Most people’s sightings of a sparrowhawk are little more than a flash of grey / blue as the hawk flies through their gardens hoping to grab a little bird off their garden feeders.
This bird has been nicknamed Mad Max and he certainly lives up to his reputation, he is fearless and while eating, will happily sit in front of the hide for 20 minutes or so.
Alan McFadyen has painstakingly built a woodland hide in Scotland specifically for photographing this beautiful bird of prey. All of his efforts are now paying off with Mad Max making daily visits through this woodland area. There is nowhere else in the UK where you can get this close to the sparrowhawks and get these sort of photographs.
It should be stated that Mad Max is a totally wild bird and it’s his choice that he makes these visits. Alan did say that if Max nails a blackbird or other bird of similar size then he is done feeding for the day, and thus, like all nature photography, alot of luck is needed to get shots of these amazing birds.
Alan does his absolute best to give photographers the best chance of photographing elusive birds. The various feeders around the hide site are teaming with little birds which are part of the Sparrowhawks daily diet.
I highly recommend anyone wanting great shots of this stunning bird to contact Alan and book a day in his hide, you will not be disappointed. Alan is a great guy and will really look after you during your visit.
More shots are available to see and purchase at my website:
My Sparrowhawk Gallery
Or Book your place here, you will not regret it.
www.naturephotographyhides.co.uk.
54.534628
-1.055882
